May 24, 25 & 26 
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)
7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

This is a group audition.  Come one of these evenings.
Plan to stay for the entire time specified. 

Audition Location: St. Patrick’s Club Building
West 38th St. & Bridge Ave. in Ohio City 

Arrive 15 minutes early to register
Anyone arriving after the starting time will not audition that day.

About the Show:

Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg     Lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and Alain Boublil     Adapted from the original French lyrics by Alain Boublil     Additional material by Richard Maltby Jr.     Orchestrations by William D. Brohn     Originally produced on the stage by Cameron Mackintosh     *This production licensed by Josef Weinberger Ltd. on behalf of Music Theatre International & Cameron Mackintosh Ltd.* 

Miss Saigon, brings Puccini’s Madame Butterfly to post-millennium America in a moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.  In the final chaos of the Vietnam War, an American soldier and a Vietnamese girl fall in love, only to be separated during the fall of Saigon. This is an intimate story of love, war, loyalty, survival and a mother’s drive to give her child a future of promise.  Raw and uncompromising, Miss Saigon is an intense experience of the losses suffered and the sacrifices made in a fearful world using  violence to achieve peace.  Songs include:  “The Movie In My Mind”, “Sun & Moon” and “The Last Night of the World.”

About the Audition:

   Looking to build a large, racially & ethnically diverse cast of characters.  All roles are open.  No experience necessary.  No prepared material needed.  A relaxed, playful and friendly atmosphere.  Wear comfortable clothing & shoes for dancing so you can move easily.

Group audition process.  Actors are led through multiple improvisational exercises including acting, movement and singing.

Rehearsals begin Sunday, June 12, 2011

The show runs July 22-August 7, 2011

Miss Saigon MAJOR PRINCIPAL ROLES

We will be flexible in casting around age and ethnicity.
ALL ROLES ARE OPEN FOR AGES 13 (entering high school)- 19.

Chris   (Tenor to G#, 20 -30s, Caucasian or African-American)
Disillusioned and conflicted marine. Strong conscience.

Kim  (Belt or strong mix to E, late teen – 20′s+, Asian)
A young, innocent orphaned Vietnamese woman. Determined,
maternal.

John  (25-40+ Non-Asian. Tenor to Bb)
Chris’s superior officer and friend. Passionate and full of life.

Gigi
An experienced bar-girl, crowned “Miss Saigon”

The Engineer (35 – 55, Tenor or strong Baritone to G)
Owns “Dreamland” an after-hours club in Saigon. Eurasian or other ethnic background. Charismatic, chameleon, operator, pimp.

Thuy  (20′s – 30′s+, Tenor to G#, Asian)
The man to whom Kim was betrothed by her parents. Militaristic. See things in black and white. Threatening.

Ellen  (20-30′s, Belt or strong mix to E, Caucasian or African American)
Chris’s dutiful wife.

Tam  (3 – 5 years old, Asian)
Kim’s very young son – may be played by a boy or girl 

MANY MINOR ROLES &
LARGE MULTI-RACIAL COMPANY PLAYS

American GI’s of all types, pimps, bar girls of all races, refugees, tourists of all types, vendors

Part 1

Part 2: Joe & Jill

Saturday, April 16th
Noon until 4:00pm

Our Technical Director Josh Padgett and the design team need your assistance with building scenery, painting, costumes, props and lighting.

If you can, please come and join them if only for a couple of hours. 

The theatre will be open at 10a.m. if you want to come earlier.

Pizza & pop will be provided.

For more information, call Josh at 440-915-5484.

Thanks so much!  

Join us as we journey Into the Woods- May 6-22! Get tickets by calling 216-961-6391 or visiting www.nearwesttheatre.org.

Get involved as a
Front of House Volunteer
2010/2011 Season

     In keeping with our mission to include and involve our community, we invite you to join us as a Front of House (FOH) volunteer for either or both of our next two shows this season.

We are especially in need of:
bakers for concessions and house managers

Of course, we also need house greeters, concessions workers, gift shop salespersons, ticket takers and assistants at the box office. 
(Ages 8 & up are welcome)

Whether you have helped us before or this would be the first time, your commitment to make the Front of House work smoothly is greatly appreciated not only by Near West, but our audiences as well.  Our FOH volunteer recruiter, Sue Stewart, (a volunteer as well) will begin her search for volunteers for Into The Woods in the next couple of weeks.

 If you’d like to help one night or more, please contact Sue: 216-861-0318
or susanstewart11@aol.com.       

For more information, visit us at www.nearwesttheatre.org

Into The Woods  (need 126 volunteers)
May 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21& 22, 2011

Miss Saigon (need 112 volunteers)
July 22, 23, 28, 29, 30 August 5, 6 & 7, 2011

Our theatre is located at St. Patrick’s Club Building
3606 Bridge Avenue in Ohio City

House Greeters

Concessions Workers

Gift Shop Salesperson

SPACES is seeking performers to join a one-night experimental production of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle, WAGNER APOCALYPSE, orchestrated by Los-Angeles based performance artist Liz Glynn as part of the Machine Project residency.  The performance is scheduled for SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26th, at 8pm, at SPACES.

WAGNER APOCALYPSE is a silent re-enactment of the complete stage directions from the Ring Cycle.  The stage directions will be projected like a silent film in the background; the performance appears as a walk-through rehearsal, in which performers seek to embody the epic through simple bodily gestures.  The performance was originally developed for the L.A. Opera’s Ring Cycle Festival in 2010.

No vocal skill, or professional experience is necessary, though we would love to have experienced actors and actresses engage in this experiment.

Performers are asked to convene 90 minutes prior to the start time at SPACES for a brief introduction to the piece.  Pizza, beer, and refreshments will be provided.

Please rsvp to lizglynn@machineproject.com by Thursday at midnight.

MORE INFORMATION FROM LIZ:

The idea is to take this epic “gesamptkunstwerk” and strip off many of the layers which make opera difficult to access.  This follows the legacy of Brecht, whose theories led to several hyper-minimal productions of Wagner following WWII which removed the baroque naturalism which had become equated with the Nazis and German nationalism, and focused the attention on the emotional and psychological dynamics of the opera. Wagner Apocalypse operates at the margin where the participants are quite literally going through the motions in order to construct this emotional exchange.

The piece was developed for the Ring Cycle Festival in LA in 2010, but a lot of my research looked at the evolution of the Bayreuther Festspiele, the opera company founded by Richard Wagner himself and operated by his various descendents since his death.  This company has been emblematic of the battleground over interpreting Wagner politically / socially.  My favorite production is the one by Patrice Chereau from the 70s.. Flight of the Walkure (theme from Apocalypse Now)–that one is really amazing, as they’re actually dragging corpses across the stage.

HOWEVER, we ask that between 12 and 1 p.m. today that you hold Near West Theatre’s future and promise in your heart and ask for blessing and expansion of resources. Ask for big daring dreams and the celebration of life and our future.

THANK YOU,
Near West Theatre Executive & Artistic Directors, Stephanie & Bob**

Dear Friends of Near West Theatre,

We are asking people to join us at Edgewater Park, lower beach level, under Mother Willow at 12 Noon this coming Monday.